Talk about a show that really just took over the world for the better. I’m referring to HBO’s Our Flag Means Death, obviously. The show, created by David Jenkins, provides a new history to pirates like Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet and gives fans an answer to queerbaiting that they’d been waiting for.
Starring Rhys Darby, Taika Waititi, and an all-star cast of comedians and actors we’ve come to love, the show really is a place for fans to appreciate two pirates just understanding each other and the pain that they cause one another. It’s addicting to watch, with many fans rewatching the first season over and over again.
So now that we’re all patiently waiting for any sort of information on Our Flag Means Death season 2 to drop, fans are slowly seeing the roll out of HBO Max successor Max … ignoring the show as a whole? The new “Max Originals” category left the series out (it is a Max Original, so that feels weird on its own), but then fans noticed it was also left out of the LGBTQ+ Voices section of the new platform, as well.
The series not only focuses on Stede Bonnet (Darby) and his quest to become a pirate, but it also explores his relationship with Blackbeard (Waititi). And they’re not the only queer couple in the show! That’s what is so exciting about Our Flag Means Death as a whole. It’s not just one queer couple doing the bare minimum; most every couple we see on the show is queer.
So, to leave the show out of the Max Originals list is bad, and it’s even worse to leave it out of the LGBTQ+ Voices section when the show was nominated for GLAAD awards.
It’s further proof that it is the fans who get the word out about this show.
Our Flag Means Death pirates deserve better from Max
From the start of its release, the series itself was a hidden gem. If you’re someone like me who loves Darby and Waititi for their previous work, you were probably interested in the series from the start. That’s why I started to watch it—because I love them both and have since their work on Flight of the Concords, as well as the film What We Do in the Shadows.
But then, as I watched, I was shocked that the show wasn’t just teasing a relationship between Blackbeard and Stede but that they were actually following through with it. This all just led me to love the show so completely, like many fans have. So, to see Max, HBO, and the team that has taken over (looking at you, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav) seemingly ignore a series that has seen so much love from fans is absurd.
Our Flag Means Death deserves better than being ignored on a platform that is highlighting LGBTQ+ voices. Leaving out a show that is about love, acceptance, and not queer trauma is telling, especially when fans have had to constantly talk about the series and promote it themselves to keep it in the cultural conversation. So Max, do better. Our pirates deserve it.
(featured image: HBO)
